“Everything about white supremacy and white nationalism goes against who we are as a nation,” McCarthy said in response to comments King made earlier in the day. “Steve’s language is reckless, wrong, and has no place in our society. The Declaration of Independence states that ‘all men are created equal.’ That is a fact. It is self-evident.”

“White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” King asked, according to the story. “Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?”

“Today, the New York Times is suggesting that I am an advocate for white nationalism and white supremacy. I want to make one thing abundantly clear; I reject those labels and the evil ideology that they define,” it read in part. “Further, I condemn anyone that supports this evil and bigoted ideology which saw in its ultimate expression the systematic murder of 6 million innocent Jewish lives.”